Source identification of total petroleum hydrocarbons and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in PM10 and street dust of a hot spot for petrochemical production: Asaluyeh County, Iran

Abstract

Total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are important pollutants that affect public health in urban areas, especially in developing and oil-rich countries such as Iran. This assesses the relationship between TPH and PAHs in street dust and suspended dust, and investigates toxicity level in the urban environment of the most important petrochemical center in Iran. For this purpose, 21 and 48 street dust samples were collected for TPH analysis and PAH analysis, respectively, in Asaluyeh County. Moreover, seven air dust samples were taken for PAH analysis. TPH concentrations ranged between 240 and 4400 mg kg −1 , with a mean of 1371.43 mg kg −1 . The maximum ∑PAH concentration (6016.3 mg kg −1 ) was detected in a petrochemical complex while the minimum ∑PAHs content (16.93 mg kg −1 ) was measured in an urban area. The mean concentrations of total PAHs in street dust particles were 491.35 mg kg −1 in summer and 304.04 mg kg −1 in winter. The results indicated that PAH concentration in summer was higher. PAH sources were identified using both PAHs ratios and robust statistical methods such as Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE), backward GEE, logistic regression, principal components analysis (PCA) in conjunction with multiple linear regression (MLR) and positive matrix factorization (PMF). The results showed that PAH species generally originate from pyrogenic sources and about 0.08% of TPH was typically PAHs. However, petrogenic sources of PAHs in the industrial areas were 11.2 times more abundant than in urban areas. Also, backward GEE model demonstrated that TPH is more influenced by HMW PAHs, particularly indene. Estimated incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) was higher than 10 -4 , showing that Asaluyeh inhabitants (especially children and indoor workers) are probably exposed to cancer risk, particularly through dermal contact and dust ingestion.

Source, Characterization of Indoor Dust PAHs and the Health Risk on Chinese Children

“…Ansari et al [55] found that indoor PAHs mainly originated from cooking fuel in rural India such as wood. Abbasi et al [56] showed that indoor PAHs may come from petroleum in developing and oil-rich countries such as Iran. So the source of PAHs in indoor dust is related to the local industrial structure and the lifestyle of residents.…”

“…Dermal contact and ingestion exposures are also important route for children and are associated with behaviors such as crawling on the floor and contact with dirt and grass [59] . In addition, early development of organ, nervous, and immune systems may enhance the carcinogens sensitivity in children [56] . However, the results calculated based on ILCRs model still have certain limitations.…”

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their Derivatives (O-PAHs, N-PAHs, OH-PAHs): Determination in Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) – a Review

“…It is a group of more than 10,000 compounds, but the National Institute of Standard and Technology (NIST) reported 660 structural formulas of PAHs in NIST Special Publication 922/2011 (Kubiak 2013). PAHs are formed by incomplete combustion of many types of fuels, particularly diesel fuel (Abbasi and Keshavarzi 2019). When they are adsorbed on suspended particulate matter, they are one of the main components of smog.…”

“…The word 'smog' comes from a combination of two English words -smoke and fog (Schwartz Cowan 1997). This is an unnatural phenomenon, formed mainly due to windless weather -artificial fog composed of residues after incomplete combustion of many types of fuels (Abbasi and Keshavarzi 2019). The main component of smog is suspended particulate matter, defined as aerosols of liquid drops or solid particles.…”

Investigating the concentration levels, distribution patterns, source identification and health risk assessment of PAHs, n-alkanes, hopanes, and steranes in deposited dust of Mashhad, Iran

“…According to the meteorological statistics of Mashhad in 2018, the months of June (25.5 •C), July (30.17 •C) and August (28.7 •C) had the highest temperature and the minimum rainfall was in the three months of summer. In these seasons of the year, a lack of rainfall and high temperatures cause a decrease in soil moisture, resulting in the suspension of soil particles due to wind and a rise in dust and suspended particles (Abbasi &Keshavarzi 2019). In addition, according to Mashhad's annual report on environmental pollutants for 2018, the rst half of the year saw higher levels of PM 10 .…”